STEM

What is STEM?

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Any classes in Physics, Biology, Geology, Math, Engineering, or Chemistry qualify as STEM. 

STEM at RRCC includes:

Please visit our STEM Leadership Academy page here

Supporting Students to Transfer into a STEM degree at a 4-yr University

Join a growing community of students participating in STEM research, internships, clubs, IDEA Lab and more to better prepare for transferring into a university STEM degree. RRCC provides students with strong academic programs in STEM, as well as many opportunities to get hands-on experience both in and out of the classroom. Whether through a biology research experience, Engineering Academy, or real world project in the IDEA Lab, RRCC encourages students to get involved in several STEM experiences to strengthen academic and career goals, discover best transfer pathways, and find support for STEM learning. Students who become involved in STEM activities become likely candidates for STEM Scholarships. Take advantage of all that RRCC has to offer!

Design and build your STEM project and skills in the IDEA Lab!

The IDEA Lab is the center of innovation and STEM at Red Rocks. Tools, resources and design space available to support prototyping and building STEM projects. 3-D printers, microcontrollers, soldering, whiteboards and more! Located on west end, across from Student Life Desk.

Begin your Engineering Pathway at RRCC

The Engineering Transfer Program supports students to transfer into a four-year engineering or computer science degree. 

Program Highlights

Partnerships with universities, industry, and community provide RRCC engineers with opportunities to gain real world experience while preparing for transfer and future engineering careers.

Fast facts:

Research and Internship Opportunities

Looking for research or work experience? Consider an REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates), an internship, or other work-based experience. Below are some suggestions to get you started. 

NEW REU for Summer 2020!  (link is external)Integrating Computation & Experiment To Create Revolutionary Materials (link is external), Colorado School of Mines

This REU is designed as an 11-week program where students will tackle an interdisciplinary problem in materials informatics. Participants will receive a stipend of $6,600 for the summer and will be provided with on-campus housing. Assistance with travel expenses is also offered.

  • Application Submission: Jan. 15th – Mar. 1st
  • Application Review Begins: Feb. 15th
  • REU Dates: May 18th – July 31st

Bridge Opportunities for Transfer Student Success (BOTS), Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO

Students who have been accepted to Mines can spend the transitional summer months between community college and Mines performing authentic, cutting-edge research through Bridge Opportunities for Transfer Student Success (BOTS (link is external)). As a cross-cutting program, BOTS includes science and engineering researchers from across the Mines campus. A small fraction of these topics include water resources, energy, nanotechnology, biophysics, and robotics.  Students without prior research experience are especially encouraged to apply.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NREL, GOLDEN, CO
DOE Community College internships (link is external) are available through the DOE at one of their 15 laboratories, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, CO. Students who are interested in entering technical careers relevant to the DOE mission should apply for a 10 week Summer internship or a 16 week Fall/Spring internship.

Geoscience research experiences for community college students: Geo-Launchpad in Boulder, CO
Geo-Launchpad (link is external) helps students develop research-ready skills, and provides support in creating a career path in science, engineering, or technology. Interns spend eight weeks at UNAVCO in Boulder, Colorado, working on a collaborative project under the guidance of an UNAVCO project manager, culminating in a poster presentation. A Faculty Mentor from their home institution provides guidance and support before, during, and after the program.

Research Experience for Community College Students (RECCS), University of Colorado - Boulder, Boulder, CO
RECCS (link is external) is a summer research internship program for Colorado community college students. The goal of RECCS is to give community college students an authentic research experience that allows them to explore environmental or geosciences and gain the confidence to transition to a four-year program in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and, Math) fields.

Solar and Space Physics (link is external), University of Colorado - Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO
A 10-week program to work on a research project with a mentor.  The topic areas span the field of solar and space physics, from instrument hardware to data analysis to modeling of the Sun, the Sun-Earth system, the near-Earth environment, or the heliosphere.Students will come to Boulder, Colorado for 10 weeks to work on a research project with a mentor.  The topic areas span the field of solar and space physics, from instrument hardware to data analysis to modeling of the Sun, the Sun-Earth system, the near-Earth environment, or the heliosphere

Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL), University Cooperation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO
This EOL Technical Internship program (link is external) provides a unique experience to prepare science-focused students at two-year colleges for their future careers. Interns are hired for a paid internship to work hands on with technical and scientific support mentors. The internship lasts 20 hours per week for 12 weeks. 

NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS)
NCAS (link is external) is an online community college internship program available to community college students. Chosen applicants will participate in a 5-week online course where they will put together various projects. The top students from the online course will get a chance to participate in a 4-day camp at a NASA location.

Space Grant

Welcome to a new year of space at RRCC

Check out our latest mission success! Be sure to pan around the 360 video (link is external) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQGmEVEjYq4 (link is external)

Interested in joining the 2022-2023 Space Grant Team? Send an email to lynne.albert@rrcc.edu (link sends e-mail)(link sends e-mail)

For More information: View Short presentation on Space Grant at RRCC here

RRCC is part of the NASA Space Grant Program

Red Rocks Community College recently became a part of the Colorado Space Grant Consortium (COSGC), a state-wide program that provides Colorado students access to space through innovative courses, real-world hands-on satellite programs, and interactive outreach programs. We are funded by NASA as part of National Space Grant Program. COSGC provides opportunities for undergraduate research projects that involve a high altitude balloon launch through the DemoSat program (a low-cost access to the edge of space to encourage student innovation, creativity and persistence in science and engineering).

This year's projects:

GLEE lunar project Fall 2022
RockSat X launch August 2023
Telescope data network and radio telescope automation project
Mars Grow projects - ongoing
DemoSat launch April 2023
Robotics Challenge April 2022
RockSat rocket launch August 2022

Highlights from 2019-2021 Project: VRSE - Virtual Reality Space Experience

The team designed, constructed, tested and deployed a 360 camera from space on a sounding rocket. A 360 VR experience is being developed now!

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/university-students-prepare-to-rocket-experiments-into-space-from-nasa-wallops

Highlights from 2017-2018 Space Grant Teams

RRCC was part of the RockSat-X CCofCO team this past year. Project O.S.C.A.R. tested methods for space debris capture/ Their design and build was launched into space in August 2018. The Experiment deployed a mechanical arm, launched debris and captured debris. The secondary experiment tested small electrostatic charge methods. The full project report is posted here. 

RCC students Christian Prather, Rhiannon Larsden (not pictured), Brianne Treffner and Maggie Franchois were part of this inter-collegiate team (RRCC, CCA and ACC). This year-long project is highly demanding and an amazing opportunity to work with NASA and be a part of a rocket launch program.

RRCC Space Grant students also built and tested a radio telescope!

RRCC students presented their projects at the Statewide Undergraduate Research Symposium at CU Boulder.

Highlights from 2016-2017 Space Grant Teams

Demosat team designed an experiment to cold-adapt yeast prior to exposure to high altitudes to see if their survival rates would be any different from control strains of yeast.

Robotics team brought their robotic rovers to the Colorado Robotics Challenge at Great Sand Dunes National Park

Students presented their projects at the COSGC Annual Research Symposium.

RRCC student, Christan Prather was the Grand Prize winner for his talk and paper on designing a low-cost thermocycler for DNA research.

Total Solar Eclipse Team!

RRCC participated in several Eclipse projects. We were selected to be one of four schools to design and build a system to live stream the eclipse from space as part of the High Altitude Eclipse Project. We also had a RRCC team design an experiment to be launched during the eclipse to expose seeds to Martian-like conditions and then grow the seeds in simulate Martian soil after exposure. We also flew a bacteria panel for NASA Ames Research Astrobiology program. We all experienced the total eclipse and did science in Guernsey, WY. It was amazing for all involved.

Highlights from 2015-2016 Space Grant Teams

Last year was very exciting. We had a DemoSat launch, a robotics team and a RockSat team. 

Our Demosat team designed a two pronged experiment. They tested the viability of different 3D printed materials as well as tested the microbial viability of samples sent up to high altitude.

Our robotics team designed a very unique robot that competed at the Colorado State Robotics Challenge in April 2016. As you can see from the photo, there were some unexpected blizzard conditions, but our robot did great! The team even won the "perseverance" award for the Challenge. Great job team!

Space Grant students meet with Congressman Purlmutter

RRCC student winners at the COSGC Symposium: Best Poster demo by Shelby Ryan and Melissa Breathwaite

Our students also participated in an Inter-collegiate team to design and built a rocket payload. Our team launched their payload into space from Wallops Space Flight Facility in Virginia. It was an amazing opportunity for all involved. The payload tested a muon detector, carbon fiber radiation shielding, and DNA viability during spaceflight.

Highlights from 2014-2015 DemoSat Team

In 2014-2015 RRCC formed the first DemoSat team who designed an astrobiology themed project for their edge of space research. The team designed a unique DemoSat flight package, obtained permission from the National Park service for collection of the microbial mats from Bad Water, CA, and devised a unique approach for studying the microbial community response to edge of space conditions focusing on viability studies and DNA probe analysis. Students launched their payload in April 2015, complete with four biological samples mounted for exposure. The balloon flight was two hours and reached a maximum altitude over 90,000 ft. Students prese

Presented their research results at local and national conferences.

Interested in joining the 2015-2016 DemoSat group? Send an email to barbra.sobhani@rrcc.edu

Field Studies

Experience science through a unique combination of coursework and travel!

Earn academic experience while experiencing science in the field. RRCC has hosted a variety of faculty-led science field studies. 

Current Field Studies:

See current student academic travel opportunities here.

Past Science Field Studies:

  • 2022 - Tanzania (BIO 228 Field Biology)
  • 2022 - Belize Honors Experience (honors trip with Mines Honors )
  • 2019 - Belize Honors Experience (joint science and society and spanish)
  • 2018 - Costa Rica (joint Environmental Science & Spanish)
  • 2017 - Wyoming - Total Solar Eclipse
  • 2017 - Hawaii (joint biology and geology)
  • 2017 - New Mexico - (joint astronomy and archeology)
  • 2016 - Tanzania (BIO 228 Field Biology)
  • 2015 – Hawaii (joint biology and geology)    
  • 2014 – Tanzania (joint biology and anthropology)
  • 2014 - Southern New Mexico (joint astronomy and archeology)
  • 2013 – Hawaii (joint biology and geology)
  • 2012 – Peru (biology)
  • 2014 - Northern New Mexico (joint astronomy, geology, and archeology)
  • 2011 – Hawaii (joint biology and geology)
  • 2010 – Costa Rica (joint biology and geology)
  • 2009 – Hawaii (joint biology and geology)